It’s Time to Grow Up! (or,
“From Slavery to Sonship”)
Galatians 4:1-11
Introduction:
A well-known story that Jesus told was of a son who made a selfish choice. He chose
to despise the father who loved him and walked away from the blessings of sonship.
Going the way of the world he eventually became enslaved by his poor choices. That
story had a happy ending as the prodigal son repented, and went back in
brokenness, and was received by his gracious father. The OT story of Esau shows
another case of despising the blessings of sonship, when, in a moment of hunger,
Esau, the eldest son of Isaac, exchanged his birthright for a bowl of stew. In
our text today Paul is asking, “Why would a child of the king reject his
position, and choose to become a slave?”
He is urging the Galatians, and us, to live in the light of who we are in
Christ!
One of my favorite movies, the first
in the Matrix series, tells a story where humans are in bondage to a
system they don’t even know exists. Living an illusion they are unconsciously
slaves of the Matrix. One of the characters in that movie, Cypher (a Judas
character) betrayed Morpheus and the team of humans who had been set free from
bondage to the Matrix. Why did he do it? He thought he was happier living in
the illusory world of the Matrix than he was struggling against the machines in
the real world. He wanted to return to living in the blissful ignorance of
bondage! Not too unlike the Jews in the wilderness who murmured against Moses, “Why
did you take us out of Egypt? We had leeks and cucumbers there, take us back!”
So quickly they forgot what they had been saved from, they were ready to turn
back to slavery. A little like the Galatians, isn’t it? They had been set from
bondage through faith in the Gospel of Christ. And now they were seemingly on
the brink of turning back to a religion of works.
Context:
We saw in chapter 3 how God made a promise to Abraham 2000 years before
Christ. He then gave Moses a Law, which
not only did not annul the promise, it actually made it more urgent and
necessary. We’ve seen how that promise was fulfilled in Christ, so that
everyone who the Law drives to Jesus shares in Him the promise that was made to
Abraham—by grace through faith. That is
what God has done for us in Jesus. But
Paul is writing this letter because it seemed as though the Galatians had
forgotten who they were and what they had in Christ, they were being convinced
that if faith was good, faith plus works must be even better in terms of
earning God’s favor. No!
The BIG* Idea:
If we recognize the privilege it is to be called God’s son, we will never desire
to go back to our former position of slavery. We have been set free in Christ.
It’s time to grow up and live in the light of the Gospel of Grace!
I. What we were: In effect, we were slaves (4:1-3)! God’s revelation before Christ was
anticipating a new age and a new standing: We were slaves, now we are sons!
I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different
from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and
managers until the date set by his father.
3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were
enslaved to the elementary principles of the world.
Think
back about your experience before you trusted Christ. Can you see how God was
guiding your life, bringing you to the point of finding your place in His
story? You were a slave, but then came
to know God, or rather, be known by God (cf. Gal 4:9)! God knows everything, so what does that
mean? It is the personal, intimate knowledge of relationship. When God is the
subject of the verb, knowing, loving, and choosing, all go
together. While we were yet sinners, in rebellion, separated from God, by
nature children of wrath, even then God so loved us that He gave His Son.
The image of
“slavery” can be applied both in the macrocosm of redemptive history (the progressive
unfolding of his plan until the coming of Christ in the fullness of time) and also
in the microcosm of our individual experience of coming to faith. As the Jews
were slaves, under the Law, waiting for the coming of the Promised One, we too were
personally slaves to sin and to Satan until God graciously intervened in our
life, and we heard and believed the gospel.
Here Paul uses an illustration: even
though a child might be an heir, and so fully expect his inheritance in the
future, as a young boy he would continue under the authority of the servants of
the father who had been appointed as his guardians or stewards. There is a
future promise, but it is still future. A
trust is an example today, a sum might be held for a minor until an appointed
time, perhaps when they are 21. It’s
their money, but they can’t have access to it until the time appointed.
At
a 1st century bar-mitzvah of a Jewish boy at age 12 (or 13?) the father would
thank God for taking from him the responsibility for the boy. Can you imagine?
Twelve years old, time to grow up son, take some responsibility! The Greeks had
a ceremony at about age 18 marking the transition to manhood. For Roman
children, on marking their transition to adulthood, the boys would actually
sacrifice their toys and girls their dolls! In most American homes it is not a such a
clean break! (Mary Ann did say she dreaded going into the 6th grade
– it meant it was time to give up her dolls). At some point, it’s time to grow
up! One father, cleaning up the toys his kids had spread across the backyard,
was heard to quote I Cor 13:11 – “…when I
became a man, I put away childish things…”
In Verse 3 Paul says, “In the same
way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary
principles of the world.” I’ll be interested in the discussion in our Wednesday
night meeting about the phrase elementary principles [stoixeia].
It is a word that can mean “elements” as we would us it, the simple form of the
material that the world is made of. It can also be used metaphorically of
ABC’s, the simple teachings that a child must learn. The word appears twice in
this passage. In verse 3, when we were children, we “…were enslaved to the elementary
principles of the world.” Then Paul uses the word again in verse 9, “…how
can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles,
whose slaves you want to be once more?” Paul’s experience was rigorously
following the Law, and the Jewish traditions. The Galatians had been pagans.
Now the Judaizers were undercutting the gospel by saying that faith alone was
not enough. I think we see a similar idea in Colossians 2:8,20, where Paul is
confronting false teaching that he summarizes in v.21, “Do not handle, do
not taste, do not touch.” Do you see what was happening? Legalism,
following rules, as the requirement to come to God. I think that is the
elementary principle, the way that
seems right to a man, to which Paul is referring. As though by being
good enough we could approach holy God! Colossians 2:13,14 says…
13 And you, who were dead
in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive
together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt
that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to
the cross.
Clearly, it is not by our good
works or piety or performance. Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe! You can’t
add anything to that! It is finished! John Wesley’s testimony was that he was a
minister, a teacher, a missionary, and devoutly religious. He practiced the
Sabbath on Saturday and the Lord’s day on Sunday. Later he wrote: “I had
even then the faith of a servant, but not that of a son…” If we recognized
the privilege it is to be called God’s son, we would never choose to go back to
our former position of slavery. We have been set free in Christ. It’s time to
grow up and live in the light of the Gospel of Grace!
II. What we are:
Through God’s Gracious provision we have been made “Sons of God” through faith
in Christ (4:4-7).
4 But when the fullness of time had
come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under
the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God
has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba!
Father!" 7 So you are no
longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
The source of our sonship was the
gracious action of God on our behalf (4-5). A friend posted this quotation from
Philip Yancey this week…
Jesus forgave a thief dangling on a cross… That thief would never
study the Bible, never attend synagogue or church, and never make amends to
those he had wronged. He simply said “Jesus, remember me,” and Jesus promised
“Today you will be with me in Paradise.” It was another shocking reminder that grace
does not depend on what we have done for God but rather on what God has done
for us.
That is Amazing Grace! Jesus paid
it all, we can’t add to it, there is nothing to complete, “the debt is paid.” He had a plan, and He did it, so only He gets
the glory.
The
timing was in accordance with God’s sovereign will: “When the fullness of time came…” In God’s providence, the world was
ready for the birth of the Savior. Not
only was there an air of expectancy and dissatisfaction with the status quo, but the stage was also set
for God’s plan to unfold in its fullness: including the rejection and
crucifixion of God’s Son by His own people!
What? The Jews were prepared to misunderstand Christ’s mission. They were
looking for a military or political Rescuer rather than a Savior from sin. Ironically,
by delivering him into the hands of the Romans, they fulfilled prophecy,
proving who Jesus is (since the Scriptures predicted a rejected Messiah), and
setting the stage for His sacrifice for our sins.
There were other elements that made the
first century “the fullness of time,” the perfect time for God’s plan to
unfold. The synagogue system had become widespread. Any town with at
least ten Jewish men organized a center where the Scriptures could be read and
talked about on a weekly basis. It provided a prepared audience, Jews and
gentile proselytes who knew and memorized the Law and the Prophets, including
the promises of the coming Messiah. The Pax
Romana and the Roman system of roads set the stage for the rapid growth
of the church, allowing missionaries to bring the good news throughout the
Roman world. The Greek language itself had become the Lingua Franca
of the Greco-Roman world, and prepared the way for the Scriptures to be translated into a language that Gentiles
from Asia, Africa and Europe could read and understand. After the resurrection the
disciples wrote letters that were preserved and circulated, and soon became the
written New Testament. The King of History was working at exactly the right
time, guiding the story to fulfill His plan. The fullness of time had come, and
Jesus came to complete His saving work and begin building His church!
The
circumstances were as God planned: born of a woman: God the Son took
upon himself a human nature; born under the Law, to live a sinless life,
and so fulfill the Law in a way that no other human ever did or could. But the
most important thing for us is why He did it: In order to “…redeem
those who were under the Law…” There are a few words the Bible uses to get
across the idea of a price being paid to save us from sin. Here is a word that
appear 4 times in the NT, twice in Galatians (cf. Gal 3:13) — evxagora,zw – “To buy out of the market.” We were slaves, bought at a price, by the
blood of Christ!
There is a second purpose
stated by Paul, the Son was sent to redeem us, for this purpose: “…that
we might receive the adoption as sons…” That translation is a bit awkward,
since the goal is stated with a single Greek word: ui`oqesi,a = “adoption as sons.” The idea is the full enjoyment of the privileges of being a legal
heir. Not just a child destined to be an heir, but someone with the rights of
an adult son. He bought us from slavery, to make us his sons!
The confirmation of our sonship
(v.6). God’s Spirit within us
subjectively confirms the objective truth: We are God’s children (see Rom
8:14-16). The servant has only a master,
the son has a father! The servant obeys
out of fear, a son out of love (I Jn 3:1)! The first word in v.7, “So…”
In the light of these facts, the one who is in Christ is not longer a
slave, no longer under the Law, but a son, an heir according to the promises,
we obey out of love. If we recognized the privilege it is to be called God’s
son, we would never choose to go back to our former position of slavery. We
have been set free in Christ. It’s time to grow up and live in the light of the
Gospel of Grace!
III. How we should
therefore live: Why would a son choose to return to slavery (4:8-11)? Being a child
of the King brings with it tremendous blessings and privileges, but also an
obligation or expectation to live differently because of who we are in Christ.
8 Formerly, when you did not know
God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you have come to
know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak
and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be
once more? 10 You observe
days and months and seasons and years! 11
I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.
Paul is clearly implying that before
they believed in Jesus, the Galatians were slaves of Satan. Read v.8: “Formerly, when you did not know God, you
were in bondage to beings that by nature are no gods…” Paul wants to
reserve the word "God" for the one true God. But he knows that
formerly the Galatians were in bondage to beings which they called
"gods." The Galatians were among those who the “god” (small “g”) of
this world had blinded. The enemy is real. And he is vicious.
Is it not wrong to see the devil under
every rock? You’ve heard people say, “It’s
not my fault, the Devil made me do it!” We
are responsible – and we can resist Him – but we need to beware! We are in a spiritual war, and Jesus and his apostles have said as much. "If by the
finger of God I cast out demons, the kingdom of God has come upon you,"
Jesus said (Luke 11:20). Paul said, "We are
not contending against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers .
. . against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places" (Eph
6:12). Peter said, "Your adversary the devil prowls
around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). James said, "Resist
the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4:7). John said, "Every
spirit which does not confess Jesus is not of God. This is the spirit of
antichrist, of which you heard that it was coming, and now it is in the world
already" (1 John 4:3). These are not isolated verses! It is clear that
the New Testament writers want us to be aware, and to be wary of the evil one
and his minions! The good news is that greater is He who is in us, than he
who is in the world!
Paul warns the Galatians of the peril of
sliding back into spiritual bondage in 4:9-11. But weren’t these false teachers
only calling the Galatians to add the Law to the Gospel – Is that really
demonic? Trying to be saved by
human effort, whether through the Law or through paganism, is the “elementary
principle” that really amounts to bondage to demons. "When you did not
know God, you were in bondage to those that by nature are no gods." Paul
says Galatian Christians were in danger of going back to the slavery of their
former Gentile pagan religion if they turned to the legalism of the Judaizers.
Remember these new Galatian believers were Gentiles whose past was not Jewish
law but Gentile paganism and idolatry. So, the Judaizers—these rigorous, moral
monotheists out of Jerusalem—must have been shocked to hear Paul say to the
Galatians: if you begin to use the Jewish law to show God how good you are,
you come under the sway of demons and are no better off than in your former
idolatry. Paul was exposing a typical demonic scheme which is just as
prevalent in the religions of the world today as it was in Paul's day. It is
clean, it is moral, it is religious, and it is “the way of death.”
What is God saying to me in this passage? If
we recognized the privilege it is to be called God’s son, we would never choose
to go back to our former position of slavery. We have been set free by the
blood of Christ. It’s time to grow up and live in the light of the Gospel of
Grace!
What would God have me to do in response to this passage?
The enemy would have us pervert the Gospel of Grace by adding our
“requirements” for spirituality. Remember John Wesley, no one was more
religious, more disciplined. Still, by his own testimony he was still a slave,
and not a son. Jesus paid it all. By grace through faith we are children of the
King. What difference should this make in our prayer life? We are the King’s
kids! Does any of this matter in our service to God, in our ministry? In the parable of the prodigal son, the
younger son chose to ignore his Father, even despise him, and to pursue
pleasure. Jesus didn’t tell us how his life changed when he came home,
graciously accepted by the Father as a son, not a slave. Like the prodigal we
don’t deserve anything. But in Christ, the blessings of heaven are lavished on
us. We are free in Christ – freed from bondage. We are sons and kingdom
citizens! We are free to know God and walk with Him. We want to serve
Him – out of love. When we live in the light of the Gospel, we “portray the
beauty of Christ to the world,” He get the glory. Let us be faithful children
of the King! To God be the glory, great things He hath done. AMEN.
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